When The Past Comes Back
by QuantumRikako
Summary: When Kana Anaberal comes back to seek revenge on those who killed her, Gensokyo's residents are in danger. But a close friend knows what happened between them from an incident five years ago, and Kana doesn't want to see her ever again.
1. Chapter 1

"So let me get this straight. You...want me, to recount some of the events that seems important to Gensokyo's history now?" Patchouli Knowledge asked, laying down in her chair in the grand library of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

"Yes, I want you to do just that. I'm recording a new version of the history of Gensokyo, and I want to ask you to give your best answers."

Patchouli shrugged. She didn't want to be interrupted by any kind of distraction that might keep her away from maintaining, organizing and reading all these books in her grand library, but this distraction was different...

"So, are you up to it?" Hieda no Akyuu asked.

"Hmm...sure, why not?"

Akyuu felt relieved to hear this. She had been asking for weeks for someone to just tell her this final part of her new revision, but they were...let's just say, busy.

"Alright, then. Let's get started with this-"

 _CRASH!_

The sound of broken glass alerts them. Somebody was here. And Patchouli had a feeling who...

"And that, Akyuu, is my time to get rid of somebody and protect my books." she said as she stood up and walked over to where the sound came from.

 _Just as I thought._

The crash site was filled with black smoke from the impact. Although it covered up the area, Patchouli could clearly see a broom...

"Marisa's here. I knew it." Patchouli told herself.

"Why would she be here?"

"To steal some books, I know."

At last, they reached the center where it was foggiest. They slowly wafted the air away to see better. Then a dark figure appeared in front of them, but Patchouli knew what to do.

"MARISA! You better get out of this library right now or I'm gonna make you!"

They waited for a response...they heard a voice come out of the darkness. But not what they expected.

"Yeah, well, don't expect that Marisa would try..."

 _That wasn't Marisa's voice. I swear it wasn't._

"That...doesn't sound like Marisa." Hieda commented.

"Yeah, well, who could it-"

Before Patchouli could finish, a child, wearing adult witch clothes, ran out of the smoke, laughing as she disappeared to the ever looming bookshelves.

 _Huh...who was that child, Patchouli asked herself._

"I'm sorry about that, she ran from my grip! I'm gonna go get her."

Another figure, obviously taller and older than the child, stepped out of the darkness. She had purple hair longer than Patchouli's, a backpack and a lab coat that stands out among the rest...

Patchouli didn't recognize her at first.

"Who are you?"

The person didn't seem surprised at this. "I, wouldn't blame you for that. Not many people recognize me now. Good thing you have the great chronicler herself, Hieda no Akyuu."

At this, Akyuu looked at the visitor. Something about her seemed so familiar...

Then it all snapped in her head. It was so clear now. She walked up to the visitor.

"...Ah! You're the Asakura scientist!"

They hugged each other for a moment, then they broke away. "I'm glad you still remember me. It's been a long time," said the scientist.

Patchouli seemed even more confused now. "Akyuu...who is this person?"

Akyuu suddenly gained her composure back. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you at first. Who you're seeing here is Gensokyo's most famous scientist, Rikako Asakura. Rikako, this is Patchouli Knowledge, but I do suppose you knew her already."

"I bid you good evening, Miss Patchouli," Rikako said, offering to shake hands.

Patchouli took it, asking, "And what would the great scientist herself be doing here?"

"Ah, yes. Let me explain the circumstances. You saw that child a while ago?"

"Yeah," said Patchouli and Akyuu simultaneously.

"Well...that's the young version of Marisa. You see...I accidentally spilled something on her that rewound her age, but I can't seem to find a way to reverse it. So I have come here to borrow books on it."

Patchouli was skeptical. She did look like she would bring trouble wherever she went. She didn't trust the young scientist yet.

"And...mind explaining the crash?"

"We went on Marisa's broom, but I accidentally lost control of it because she kept distracting me. Heh, even when she's young, she never changes..."

 _I guess that's incredibly possible. But..._

"And why would I let you borrow books from me? You're a scientist. I don't give them to people who have strayed from the path of magic. Science...what a weird concept."

At this, Rikako grinned. Surely, this librarian hasn't heard the least of her.

"Oh, but I do have some magic myself, librarian. I just don't use it a lot, now that I'm fully committed to something else."

"Prove it, then. Don't waste my time."

"I'd rather not use it in such an old and delicate library. Or would you rather see the strongest of magic itself?"

 _The strongest...of magic? Surely. This cannot be._

"I don't believe you. You look too weak to handle that power."

"Are you underestimating me?! You should look at yourself, you have so many diseases just because you don't go out to catch a break!"

"At least I'm not a crazed lunatic who wouldn't-"

"Enough, you two!" Akyuu demanded. At this both of them quieted down. She leaned over to Patchouli.

"Just let her borrow them, Patchy. It can't kill you just to part with a few books..."

Patchouli sighed. As much as she hated it, both Rikako and Akyuu were right. She thought about it for a few moments, then said, "Alright. I'll let you borrow some books. You look responsible enough."

"I appreciate the comment, Patchouli. I'll take care of them. But first...we have a redhead to catch. And as for Akyuu..."

"Don't worry. You can tell me along the way. Something tells me this will be long."

With a great library such as Patchouli's, it should've been impossible to catch Marisa, with thousands of bookshelves that she could easily hide in. Meanwhile, Rikako had noticed the many different pumpkins and other spooky things along the library as they walked.

"So you celebrate Halloween as well?" she asked.

"Well, we all do," Patchouli answered, "But only I stay here, as well as Meiling. The rest are going trick-or-treating."

"You mean that vampire, her crazy sister and the crazier maid."

"Somewhere along those lines. These decoration give me the creeps, though. As if something bad is going to happen...but I doubt it."

"Marisa?! Where are you?" Akyuu kept screaming. It seemed desperate to find the girl, after all, if they can't find her here, they might never see her again...

Her thoughts were interrupted by Patchouli shouting from somewhere else, "I found her! She's here! With somebody else..."

Both Akyuu and Rikako ran to where Patchouli was. Finally, they could pick her up, get the books and-

"Uhhh...Patchy? Who is this...other child?"

Indeed, they had found Marisa, standing and poking another child, standing up and staying still, all dressed in white.

"I...I don't know."

"Miss Patchouli, are you OK? You look pale."

"I-I'm fine...It's alright."

Rikako walked closer to the girl, asking, "Are you OK? What's your name? Did you get lost?..."

All of a sudden, the girl started sobbing, saying things like,

 **"Why...why am I here? Who are you? Who am I? How...I don't know you...I don't know myself..."**

"She seems to have lost her memory," Rikako said. "Must've lost her mind for a bit-"

 **"But I do remember one thing...there was this woman. She asked me if I wanted to be...whole again. I accepted her offer...but it went wrong...I felt so much pain...she just simply smiled at me...and...and..."**

She just suddenly started laughing. The other three didn't know what was going on, but they could agree on one thing: this girl was weird...

Akyuu spoke up. "Um...girl? What...what's wrong-"

 **"I died! Yes, that's what happened...I was dead! Ha...hahaha. I remember perfectly now, I'm now dead! And it was all thanks..."**

She pointed to Patchouli. At that moment, everybody looked at her in confusion.

"All thanks to you. Ha. Hahaha...hahahaha! Isn't it funny...you wanted to kill me. You lied to me...haha..."

Patchouli was suddenly so pale and panicked. "This...this can't be...I brought you away...I buried you...you were gone..."

"Miss Patchouli...what's going on?!" Rikako asked in panic.

Patchouli didn't know what to do. But she did know the perfect reaction. She backed away slowly, pulling the others with her, along with child Marisa.

"I think we better run." With that, she started running in the other direction, towards the exit. The others followed her shortly after.

"Hahahaha...where do you think you're going?..." Patchouli and the others felt a sudden surge in power coming from the girl, who was now floating above the air. This couldn't possibly be good...

"RUN! TO THE EXIT!"

They kept running as fast as they could, but the girl was seemingly a bit too fast for them. She seemed to get closer instead of going further away.

"Why in the world is she faster than us?! She must be some kind of ghost!" Patchouli cried out.

"But wait," Akyuu pondered, "wandering ghosts only stay here because they still have an attachment to this world. That means..."

Rikako got straight to the point. "We'll talk about it later! Just keep running!"

As dark as the library was, Patchouli remembered all the pathways and corridors. She led the group through a seemingly endless maze, near impossible to get out. Just then, a book hit Akyuu in the back of her head.

"Ouch! What...was that?" she asked.

They looked around, but saw nothing. They couldn't see anything...but Marisa kept pulling on Rikako's coat and pointing somewhere.

"What is it, Marisa? Can't you see we're busy?"

But she kept pointing to that same spot. She looked closer...and saw a flying book rush out, avoiding it just in time.

"Hey..." Patchouli called out, "we just got a bigger problem right now...look!"

They looked behind themselves. Another dark figure was coming out. They prepared themselves for battle...only to see someone else and not the ghostly girl. She wore a hat made of the finest linen and wore maid's clothes in blue and white, she had striking yellow hair...Rikako looked at her in shock.

"K-K-Kana?!...What..."

"Rikako?! You know this person?" Patchouli asked.

"Yes...she's a poltergeist. Just like that girl. And she's my friend."

She walked close to Kana Anaberal. They hadn't seen each other for so long...but Kana seemed more serious and mad than her usual cheery self. Something was wrong, Rikako could tell.

Rikako tapped Kana's shoulder, gesturing that she wouldn't hurt her. "What's wrong? Do you know what that was-"

"Move, Rikako. I need to kill that librarian."

She was surprised. What...what had happened? Why would Kana...want that? She had to know more. She believed it could be settled peacefully, even with the slimmest of chances.

"Kana...please, just talk to me for a moment. I know you're feeling dark inside, but just let it all out. You can trust me."

This seemed to make Kana better, as she finally looked at Rikako's face. She saw in her the trust she had...but she stayed unswayed.

"She...she killed me. That librarian wanted to kill me!"

Patchouli stepped forward, her feelings now fighting for control. "Now, girl. It was...just an accident. Why can't you understand that-"

"You think you understand?! No, no, no! You don't understand! I was just a poor orphan out there, and I thought you would give me a chance to have a new life, to start over! Instead, you used me as a toy and when I died, you didn't even care about me!"

She started to cry. Rikako felt pity for the poor child. She had been through so much...she clearly didn't want any more trouble. She just wanted to leave this world...to not have a curse of being attached forever. She hugged Kana and started sobbing as well...

"Kana...I didn't know you were in this much pain. I'm sorry if I wasn't there for you...if I couldn't support you. But now, I'll support you with all my heart. I want you to live your life in peace and-"

Before she knew it, Rikako felt a sudden, intense pain in her chest. She fell to the ground as blood splattered all over her, reaching even the glasses...there she lay, bordering death.

 _"RIKAKO!"_

Patchouli then saw a bloody dagger in Kana's hands. She...had used it to stab Rikako.

"Hmph. What a waste of time. That bleeding idiot doesn't know what she's doing. I won't be fooled by friendship. I'm not going to let it get in the way of my plans. And as for you, scientist..."

 **"You killed me, too. You're as pathetic as the rest of them. You made everyone forget about me. All of you forgot about me. I was alone for the rest of my life, regretting what I had done! And then...I knew it was all your fault. All you had ever done was use me, discard me and forget me when I was in pain!"**

Rikako could now only shout, "RUN! Just...leave me behind! And take... Marisa with you!"

Kana was now using her magic to desperately throw bookshelves at Patchouli and the others, while Rikako kept losing so much blood from the stab. They kept looking at her and wishing they could get her back, but they knew they couldn't. So they just kept running.

"There! THE EXIT!" Patchouli cried out.

The door was within their reach. Somehow, they could make it...but Kana wouldn't let them.

"Oh, no. You'll be stuck here with me!" she shouted as she threw two bookshelves at the door. They landed with a loud crash as they blocked the door!

"We're done for! What're we going to do?!" Akyuu cried out in desperation.

"I...I don't know anymore. I have no idea."

Kana finally stepped out of the chaos moments ago, a few meters behind them. She smiled and laughed at them.

"Isn't it funny...you're all going to die. It was all your fault I'm forgotten. And now you're going to be forgotten as well!"

She threw a large laser ball straight at them. There was no escape. They hugged each other as to say goodbye for the last time and closed their eyes, waiting for the impact...

The impact that never came.

"..You! I thought I killed you!"

They opened their eyes in shock. Right in front of them was a glass shield...Alice Margatroid's spellcard.

But it wasn't Alice that used it now. Instead, blood flowed down her lips as she focused all her hidden magic here...

"RIKAKO!" the others shouted as soon as they had seen her use the spell. Despite how much pain and weakness she was in...she still made a bold attempt at saving them.

Patchouli was confused, however. "But...but...how did you get that spellcard?"

Rikako grinned with the blood still dripping. "The strongest of magic itself...I didn't want to use this, but I really have to now. Now hurry, open the door and get out!"

"But how about you..?"

"I'm...too weak to run outside. Just leave me here to hold Kana off. I need to do one more thing before I leave this world..."

Patchouli sighed. There was no changing her mind. She ran towards the blocked door.

"Hey, Akyuu! Open up this door!"

"Alright."

With all their might, they slowly pushed away one of the bookshelves that blocked the door...at long last, they had done it.

"We're free! Let's get out of here!" Akyuu cried, taking Marisa with her. Patchouli followed her soon after, but not before looking at Rikako and Kana one more time...

Rikako couldn't hold on much longer. The barrier was about to break...and Kana showed no signs of stopping in shooting out attacks.

"You are pathetic, Rikako. You shouldn't have lived here. I should've murdered you and Patchouli if I got the first chance."

"Heh...but she's gone now. What are you going to do about it?"

"I'll find her! I'll haunt her forever, and I'll make sure that she dies in agony, regretting what she had done that day!"

"Well...you gotta get through me first."

At that moment, Rikako's spellcard broke down, and she was immediately thrown by the force of the attack into the wall. Patchouli looked, horrified as Kana picked Rikako up, now about to faint and soaked with blood, her glasses broken.

"I...I thought we were friends..."

"Friends? Ha. I don't need friends. I have myself."

She threw her on to the wall again, assured that Rikako's going to die, then she disappeared.

Quickly, Patchouli ran back to where Rikako was now.

"Patchouli...why...are...you here?"

"I'll take you to Eirin. She'll know what to do."

Patchouli carried Rikako right in her arms and walked away, the memories now swirling in her head. Guilt...regret...

And this scientist...to whom she had hated so much...Patchouli felt grateful.

 **She looked at Rikako. She fainted, and her glasses are broken. Probably not a good sign for her sight. But that didn't matter. The important thing was, they had survived.**

"Rikako...don't worry. You'll be fine."

Patchouli kissed her on the bloodied cheek to show her gratitude, then called out, "Akyuu, we're going to Eirin now!"


	2. Chapter 2

A quiet evening in Gensokyo.

The moon was shining bright outside, filling the land with mystery and light.

But with that light, darkness always overcomes it in the end...

Nitori Kawashiro was working on a new machine for Reimu when she heard the ring on her doorbell. Who could it be, she thought.

"Coming!" Nitori shouted to whoever it was as she ran to answer the door. For some reason, her hand shook as she neared the knob...

She slowly opened the door...a tall figure with purple hair stood in front of her...

"Nitori..."

Nitori stood in shock. "R-Rikako...?! It's been so long since I met you...!"

But something felt weird. Her smile felt...unnatural. Not that of a happy, cheery person, but that of a person with a strong desire.

A desire to kill...

Nitori stood back a bit. "...Rikako. Are you okay?"

She just started laughing to herself. Nitori kept moving away from her.

"Well, well. If it isn't Nitori..."

"Rikako...what...what's going on?"

Rikako just kept laughing. "Hahaha...you would make a good vessel for me. Pity the vessel has to die first..."

"Wha...WHAT'S GOING ON?!"

"You clearly don't know what's going on, do you?!"

All of a sudden, Nitori saw a dark flash in front of her...and who was once Rikako was now a young girl with a maid's outfit and a hat.

"Your scientist friend is dead, Nitori. Dead for too long. And as for you..."

The girl snapped her fingers. Knives appeared all over Nitori, still moving away from the girl.

"...YOU'LL JOIN HER IN HELL!"

Nitori braced herself for what's next to come...her death...

Then, she woke up. Back in her bedroom, in the dark of night. Conscious of her existence.

"Oh, so it was just a nightmare...I wanna get some milk."

As she went outside her room, Nitori laughed to herself a bit. Then some more...

And some more, until she was uncontrollable.

Like Nitori wasn't herself…

"...U...Ugh. Wha...?"

Rikako felt herself awakening from a long dream...or a nightmare. Slowly, her conscious reality came back. Lights flooded the room she was in.

"Where...where am I? Anybody?"

"Ah, so you've awakened. Just in time, too!"

Rikako looked around to see a woman in red and blue sipping tea while writing something down on a piece of paper. As soon as the woman noticed her sitting down on her bed, the red-blue woman put her pen down.

"So, can you remember who you are?"

Uh...probably, she thought. Rikako tried to remember as much as she could about herself.

"Hmm...my name's Rikako Asakura. I'm a scientist, and I'm 23 years old. Well, on Earth, anyway. And...1 plus 1 equals 2?"

"Great. Glad to see your brilliant mind's still working, but I still have to run a test...What's the term for the square root part in the quadratic formula?"

"The discriminant."

"How about the term for the tendency for some elements to attract electrons easier than others?"

"Electronegativity. Hey..."

"What's the term for the amount of heat needed to change the state of matter?"

"...Latent heat. By the way, aren't you one of those Lunarians? Eirin...that's your name, right?"

She seemed to stop right there, as if something suddenly shut her up.

"...Yes. You're right. Your memory's okay, as well as the other parts of your mind. As to where you are, you're inside a secret room in the Margatroid manor."

Well, judging by the number of dolls here, I suppose you're right. And why do some of them look like the others?...Aside from the majority being Marisa dolls.

"How long...was I-"

"In a coma? About two months."

"Wait...TWO MONTHS?!"

Eirin smiled happily at her. "Yes...two months. Just in time too..."

"Time for what?"

"Tomorrow's Christmas. You were gone for so long we thought you'd never wake up."

Well, Rikako thought, I'm awake now.

"We should probably go outside. It's warm in here." She told Eirin.

"Well...we could. The door's right next to you."

Slowly, Rikako stood up and walked next to the door, Eirin beside her.

Slowly, she turned the doorknob…

Both Rikako and Eirin saw themselves inside the main hall of the Margatroid manor.

It was...a mess.

They could see Reimu and Sanae running around, decorating the room with lights.

Nitori and adult Marisa were there as well, checking the blueprints to make sure everything was according to plan.

And at the center of it all was Alice herself, leading the entire operation...

"Hey, Reimu! Make sure those lights match with the curtains!"

They were too busy preparing themselves for Christmas, that they didn't see the scientist and doctor getting themselves glasses of tea. Until, of course, Alice smelled the familiar scent...

"Hey...is anyone here drinking tea?" She shouted at the others. "Nobody should be drinking tea until we're done here-"

Alice looked around to see both Rikako and Eirin drinking tea by themselves. Soon, everyone else was looking at them.

"Um...hello-" Rikako tried to say, but Marisa interrupted her.

"It's Rikako! She's awake!" Marisa screamed to the others.

Everyone scrambled to look at her again, after all, it had been two months...

"Hey...um, Rikako. Great to see you again!" Reimu mumbled.

"Yeah, you too. How's life so far, all of you? Anything I missed?" she asked.

"Well...it wasn't that interesting-"

"What are you talking about, Reimu?!" Marisa countered. "It was amazing! We got to beat up some powerful youkai! Remember when we had to defeat that nuclear bird?! Or that mind-reader and her sister-"

"Alright, we get it." Eirin told them. "You guys had some fun times. And I was stuck in Eientei the entire time taking care of Rikako here."

Suddenly, everyone kept quiet. As if Eirin somehow stopped them from talking with magic. Then Nitori spoke up.

"Took care...of her? Rikako...what happened?"

Nitori shuddered just by saying that. Somehow, it felt...familiar. Like she had heard it...and said it herself before.

"Well... Patchy, Marisa and Akyuu were there when...it happened. I don't think Marisa remembers anything there-"

"Oh, I do know what happened there. You turned me into a child there, right?"

"Well...yes."

"After that incident, Patchouli turned me back to normal and told me what happened. Not to mention I saw that the library was a huge mess. Perfect for stealing books on the ground..."

Eirin thought to herself:

 _Wow. What a reckless magician._

"Well, Patchouli and Akyuu won't be here until tomorrow...so can you tell us the story?" Sanae asked.

"Well...sure! I mean, it already happened, it's not like it's gonna happen again..."

"Ah, so that's what happened. That's quite the story. Too bad it's not Halloween..." Alice remarked.

Reimu cleared her throat. "So...this Kana Anaberal. Didn't we see her before? During the, um...the time when the Outsiders came to conduct scientific monitoring on our world? And we had a contest...? Marisa, you were there, too."

"I was, and Kana as well." Marisa answered.

"I really don't know why she would try to attack me. Something about the curse of still being attached to this world because of memories...science still has no answer to explain this."

Nitori started to go back to her work. "Well, that was fun, or scary, depending on how you look at it. But we need to get back to work. I'm sure you'll be fine here, Rikako."

Everyone agreed to her. Rikako had no choice but to accept that. Being with friends again did calm her down.

But still, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was stalking her from behind...

"Alright, Rikako," Eirin told her, "we have to get the large Christmas tree from outside. Do you still feel weak?"

"No, no. I'm okay now. After drinking that tea, I feel better."

"Great. Follow me."

Rikako followed Eirin outside the manor, near the Forest of Magic. Rikako didn't notice it before, but it was snowing. There, they saw a small tree cut down, ready to be brought in.

"Trust me, this is heavy. You're gonna have to follow everything I tell you, Rikako."

"Are you sure? It doesn't look that heavy to me-"

Eirin suddenly turned very serious.

"If you value your life, then you shall do as I say. Got it?"

 _Somehow, Rikako thought she heard two voices talking to each other._

 _"Hey, that's my line!"_

 _"Shut up, Chiyuri! We're not in the story, so don't interfere with the timeline!"_

 _"Okay..."_

Rikako steeled herself to carry the tree while Eirin walked over to the other side.

 _It's okay, it's not that heavy._

Eirin called out to her at the other side of the tree.

"On my signal, lift your side! Got it?"

"Yes, I did."

"Alright. 3...2...1...Now!"

Both of them put as much effort as they could into lifting the tree. Soon, they were moving the tree inside the manor...

"Hey, Eirin. I dropped a screwdriver."

"Do you always carry tools around with you? It's quite a hassle."

"I'm fine with it. It's in case of emergencies. Can you pick it up for me-"

"Sure, I'll pick it up for you."

With that, Eirin put down her side of the tree and walked over to the fallen screwdriver, leaving Rikako to carry the entire tree...

"Eirin, wait! I was about to tell you to pick it up later because I can't carry this tree by myself-"

Her arms, tired from carrying so much weight, finally gave up. Her side- the much heavier side- fell unto...her foot.

And there, Rikako felt her foot being crushed under the immense weight.

"EIRIN!" she screamed loudly.

Eirin knew she was in big trouble. Screwdriver in hand, she ran off to where Rikako was.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"WHAT'S WRONG?! I'LL TELL YOU WHAT'S WRONG! YOU LEFT ME TO CARRY THIS TREE AND NOW MY FOOT'S STUCK UNDER IT!"

Eirin suddenly realized her mistake. Yup, she was in huge trouble.

"Um...oops. Don't worry, I'll get you inside. The tree too. Let's see how your foot's doing there."

"Well, hurry! It hurts SO BADLY!"

"Relax. Worst case, all your bones there break and internal bleeding happens. No big deal."

"YES BIG DEAL! EIRIN!"

Eirin wasn't to get any snacks until she patched up Rikako's foot.

Meanwhile, Rikako was sitting on a chair near Alice's circular table, eating sweets and watching the others. They were decorating the tree Eirin brought in. Lights, Christmas balls, fake snow and of course, that star on top.

Thirty minutes later, Sanae finally stopped.

"Well, it's complete! Rikako, what do you think of our tree?"

"Wow, very nice. 10 out of 10."

"Great," Marisa told the others, "we can finally relax and eat. Except Eirin, of course. You done there yet?"

Eirin sighed. "Yes, I'm done. She should be able to walk. But it'll be a while before it fully heals."

The others, tired, sat on the chairs around the table, sharing sweets.

"Does anyone want any drinks?" Nitori asked.

Reimu and Marisa asked for a cup of tea. Rikako and Eirin requested a little bit of sake. Only Sanae asked for a glass of water.

"Got it." Nitori went inside the kitchen.

"Alright, everyone. Now that we're here," Alice told them, "how about I tell you a story from my grimoire?"

She went to a nearby drawer and opened one of them. Alice then retrieved a large, thick book from it.

"Yeah, sure," Reimu agreed. "We're bored anyway. Too bad Nitori will have to miss it..."

"It'll be okay." She flipped open the book to some pages.

Eirin scooted over to Rikako. "Her stories are the best!"

"Oh, really now?"

"Yeah, she even got some of her novels published here."

Alice cleared her throat, seeking everyone's attention. "Now, if you would all listen, here's today's story..."

 _Once upon a time, there lived a scientist and a magician. They were such great friends...inseparable, in fact. They were orphans, forgotten and ridiculed._

 _The scientist was a genius, far beyond her time. The magician, highly skilled._

 _The magician was, however, mentally unstable. There was no telling what she might do or happen. The scientist looked after her, no matter what._

 _Then one day, the magician said goodbye to her friend. It was only meant to be a few hours to attend to some errands..._

 _Her friend waited for the magician's arrival..._

 _And waited..._

 _And waited..._

 _And before she knew it, she was asking everyone else where her friend was._

 _But everyone just said, "No. We haven't seen her..."_

 _Feeling hopeless, the scientist wandered around for days, trying desperately to find her, to no avail._

 _One faithful day, she happened to wander around the cemetery. She looked at the gravestones and thought of her friend..._

 _And then, she saw it. No longer did she worry..._

 _For her friend was dead._

 _No longer with her. Her gravestone was there, hidden by others, as if trying to hide the truth from her..._

 _Her heart broke into pieces._

 _She only sobbed for her friend..._

 _However, she still held out one more shard of hope...hope in the form of memories. A poem._

When life comes to leave you

And I no longer see you again

I hold my soul, my memory

And lock it deep in my heart.

For love comes from separation

And the flower of hope still remains

I will embrace you in my arms once again

In the endless field of eternal dreams.

 _It says that the magician will come back once more, robbed of these memories._

 _When all seems lost and the hope is about to break..._

 _Only then will the scientist reawaken and end this curse of attachment on her._

Just as Alice finished, Nitori came out of the kitchen with their drinks.

"Here you go." She said, passing them out.

"That...is a very familiar story," Marisa commented while drinking her tea."I wonder where I've heard it before...?"

All eyes were on Rikako. She looked at them in confusion.

"Well, someone else actually wrote this," Alice told the others. "And I just found this. Whoever wrote this couldn't possibly know about you, Rikako."

She nodded in agreement. The book looked too old for whoever wrote it to know her.

"Alright everyone, let's drink. Tomorrow's gonna be a good day!" Reimu shouted.

"Ugh...I feel so dizzy..." Sanae complained.

Nitori took her to the bedroom, saying "You're just tired, Sanae. Everyone, you should go to sleep as well."

Everyone nodded in agreement, except Rikako who volunteered to clean up.

A few minutes later, everyone else was quiet. It seemed easy for her to clean when it was quiet, anyway.

Just as she finished putting away the cups, she noticed something on a chair.

Something thick...she took a closer look at it and picked it up.

"Well, if it isn't Alice's grimoire! Looks like I better return it to her..."

But the book...it was, somehow, calling her name. Like it wanted her to read it...

"I guess a little peek inside can't hurt..."

She carefully opened the book...

Suddenly, a bright flash of light came out of it. Rikako tried not to look at it...

It was gone just as quickly as it had appeared. Rikako looked at it again.

There were the words of the story written in black ink...as well as some new text in red.

"What...the..."

She read one of the texts.

"This story is more than what can be seen. It's a dangerous time, when anybody could die from...it."

Rikako was even more confused now. What is going on?!

But she had no time to worry about it now. A sound came from one of the rooms.

A door opening...

"Hey, is everything okay?" Alice asked. Quickly, Rikako closed the book and pretended she never read it.

"Yeah, I just finished. I found your grimoire as well."

"Thanks, I was finding it in the room."

Rikako gave the book to her, keeping quiet the entire time.

"We should sleep now. It's getting late."

"I agree."

Rikako and Alice went inside their room, preparing to sleep. However, Rikako's mind was thinking.

What was that moments ago? What does it have to do with me?...

How could Sanae get such a headache from a glass of water?

Morning. The sun is shining over Gensokyo.

"Rikako! Come quickly!"

The voices of the others woke her up. A few seconds later, she was outside, near the Christmas tree.

"What's wrong-"

"That."

Reimu pointed at a figure hanging from the tree...Rikako couldn't believe herself.

"Oh god, it's Sanae..."

Alice tried to console herself. "So...in the middle of the night, Sanae hung herself with a rope?!"

"What does it look like?!" Marisa screamed.

Rikako looked at Eirin and Nitori.

"Eirin..."

"Yes, I was the first one to see it. It was horrible...she was just happy yesterday!"

"Whatever could've gone wrong?..."

Rikako, however, did notice something weird...

I could've sworn Nitori was smiling and laughing to herself. I swear, she might not be herself...

"Well, we can't do much anymore. She died of lack of oxygen a long time ago." Eirin told the others.

"How do you know...?" Marisa asked.

"Well, her face is now really purple. That tells us that she wasn't getting enough oxygen in her muscles..."

They all sighed. It was too heavy on them.

Rikako asked Eirin, "Can we go outside for a moment?"

"Sure."

They walked outside until Rikako was sure no one could hear them.

"Hear me out, Eirin. Nitori's acting...pretty weird."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she's been smiling and laughing to herself the entire time. That isn't normal...at least, when it comes to Nitori."

Eirin thought about it. "...You're probably right. And how did she hang herself in the first place? She wasn't a suicidal type."

"...I think she was drugged."

"What?! How?"

"I don't know. But still...I feel that Nitori's quite central to this."

"You don't think...she's here?"

Kana? SHE'S HERE?!

"...No. No! She probably isn't here! I mean, I would've seen her do some murder already!"

"But I think that-"

Eirin stopped right there. Rikako saw blood come out of her lips...

"Eirin...?"

She fell, blood all over her head. The sight was horrible...

"...EIRIN! NO!"

"This...this is it, huh? It was nice meeting you..."

Kana...I swear. You're not the person I know.

How many people have you killed already?

How long before you're satisfied?

The dream...yes, my dream.

I was running away from her. She had a knife in hand, ready to kill me.

I tried to hide, and she would find me.

I got cornered, and she simply smiled.

Almost as if the sight of murder pleased her...

Knife in hand, she cut me and stabbed me over and over again. And yet, I never died.

I wish I did...then I wouldn't have to feel the torture ever again.

But it's the mere words she said that scares me.

"And yet, why do I still see you around?

I hated you. For what you did.

It shook me. Killed me. Again and again...

!


End file.
